


you wanna go with me?

by cicadas



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Civil War Team Captain America, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Light Angst, MJ Takes No Bullshit, Mutant Reader, Reader-Insert, Swearing, avenger!reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 08:04:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15092582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cicadas/pseuds/cicadas
Summary: A group walks by your table, and your mouth goes dry as you notice who it is. Liz Allen and her friends. Beautiful girl, lovely personality, super smart. You don’t need to look across to know Peter is staring at her, just as you are. You don’t need to ask to know he likes her. He can’t keep his emotions from showing on his face if he tried. It’s one of the things you like about him. Unfortunately for you.





	you wanna go with me?

Ellie finishes up the cheer, waving her yellow and blue pom-poms in encouragement, and the shortest of the team drops into a side-split in front of the group, arms up. They hold the pose for a minute, then stand, shaking their legs out to ease the sudden stretch. Ellie holds the pom-poms between her legs and claps her hands.

“Right, guys! That was awesome! Clare, remember to kick left next time. Otherwise, brilliant, I think this is our last practise before the next game. Let’s head out to lunch, I think we ran a few minutes into it.” She says, waving the team out as they start to head toward the gym wall for their bags. You follow them, grab your backpack from the pile and make your way through the doors, toward the cafeteria.

Ned and MJ are seated at your usual table. You see the moussed-back brown hair and round ears, and reach forward to dig your fingers into it, mussing it up. You wipe the product from your hands onto your skirt and grin as he turns around, telling you to ‘quit it’.

“Psh, don’t fret, Parker; you’ve still got the rest of lunch to fix your hair up.” You tease, slipping into the seat beside him. MJ pushes over a tray with an apple, a sandwich and some kind of organic juice - the same lunch she always picks up for you whenever cheer practice runs late. You nod a wordless thank-you, and she returns it, eyes slipping back down to her book. You can’t read the title of this one - it’s written in Cyrillic, but she highly recommends it.

Peter digs an elbow into your side, letting a little of his heightened strength into the nudge, and you grip the table to keep upright. You think back to the first time you met (also the first time you’d gotten into a real fight) and you stomp on his foot under the table as payback. You feel some of the energy that had jolted through you the first time he hit you - really hit you - and you dig your heel in a little harder.

 

_“Hey, Rookie! Eyes ahead! You’re on the new kid.” Cap instructed, “Stay focused, alright? He’s got a mouth on him.” The comm cut out, and you took your hand away from your ear. The truck you were hiding behind shifted as someone was thrown into it, causing you to jump, kicking your legs up into a flip that landed you on the hood of the vehicle. It was one of the suits: War Machine, currently picking himself up and firing off towards Sam, whose drone was flying overhead with something hanging from it._

_There he was. Short, red and blue, mouthy. You had the description and the code-name, were informed of his abilities in a hastened run-through from Bucky, but seeing him now, flying through the air by a wire wrapped around his ankle, all you could do was laugh._

_He flung an arm out, projecting some kind of white string at Red Wing, seconds later crashing down- directly onto the truck you were standing on. Well, that saved you tracking him down. You climbed on top to see him sitting up, red mask half-covering his face. You felt the buzz vibrate in your palms as you focused your energy, ready to use it - Then he turned his head._

_“Peter?” You stopped, lowering your hand. He quickly reached up to pull his mask down over his face, but you noticed he’d paused, too._

_“What the hell? What are you- Aren’t you on the cheer squad?” He asked, scrambling to his feet._

_“Yep. We’re in the same science class, too.” You said, fists raising once more at his movements. He watched you warily - well, you assumed he did, since you couldn’t exactly see his eyes - and his shoulders locked into a stance, arms up._

_“No kidding.” He advanced, and you held your arms up to shield the first punch. You’d focused most of your energy to your hands, so you only slowed him a little, cells buzzing at the strength you could feel in his - you couldn’t stop or take his enhanced strength away, but you could block it, giving you a fair fight until you learned how to control your power better. You were still learning. You struck out, aiming for his head, but he ducked to the side easily, reflexes faster than you could ever hope to be. “I apologise in advance for this.” He said, and you braced yourself, “I’ve got a job to do.”_

_  
The next hit sent you flying off the truck._

 

Ned’s voice cuts through your thoughts, and you look up to see him grinning at you. “I think you’re about to decapitate Peter’s foot, dude.”

You look down and notice you’ve still got your heel pressed into Peter’s sneaker, skin buzzing with the energy you didn’t realise you’d let build up. You quickly move it, feeling a flush of guilt buzz through you. Peter hisses as he wriggles his shoe, trying to get some circulation back. You look up at Ned, who is still grinning, and toss a V up at him.

“It’s only decapitate if it’s the head, Ned. Amputation is the removal of limbs.” MJ says, not looking up from her book. You cross your arms, in a ‘yeah, Ned,’ and reach forward for your apple. You know the crunch annoys Peter, so you lean a little closer and take a big bite right in his ear. He laughs, shoving you off, and you can feel the strength back in him. His hands are warm where they grip at your upper arm.You ignore it, and ignore the absence of it when he lets go seconds later, picking up his own sandwich to nibble at the corners. For someone who needs to eat so frequently, he has some odd eating habits. You’re sure the boy lives on cheese sandwiches alone, not to mention the pickle monstrosities he’s made you try before.

A group walks by your table, and your mouth goes dry as you notice who it is. Liz Allen and her friends. Beautiful girl, lovely personality, super smart. You don’t need to look across to know Peter is staring at her, just as you are. You don’t need to ask to know he liked her. He can’t keep his emotions from showing on his face if he tried. It’s one of the things you like about him. Unfortunately for you.

 

You put your math books into your locker and reach your arm in to reach your science theory textbook, wiggling it out and cradling it to your chest. You slam the locker door shut, turn, and see Peter standing in front of you.

“Parker. Accompanying me to class?” You tease, leaning down to slip your book into your backpack. Peter picks it up and slings it over his shoulder.

“Actually, I was just checking to see if you’re okay.” He says. “You kinda went quiet during lunch.”

Shit. Maybe he did notice. You shuffle on your feet, thinking of an excuse, but the look on Peter’s face is so genuine it stops the words in your throat. Goddamnit. Maybe you should just say something. Get it out, get on with your day. You grip the textbook tighter and straighten your back.

“Yeah, I was. I was just…thinking about something. Something I want to tell you. Have wanted to tell you for a while, actually.” You can say it, they’re just words, come on, “I like you. As…more than a friend.”

For a moment, neither of you move. Peter’s expression doesn’t change. He doesn’t laugh, or walk away - not that you thought he would - but he doesn’t say anything, either. It seems like a full minute before you see his chest rise and fall in a deep breath, and he says, “Oh. Um. I- okay. I thought that…maybe. Wow. That’s so nice.” This isn't good. But it’s what you expected.

“I like you, really a lot. You’re awesome. But, Liz…” He trails off. And there it is. The words you knew he’d say eventually, but never really wanted to hear out loud. You dig your fingernails into the plastic cover of the book, and your next breath hitches in your throat.

“Yeah. Of course. Liz is great. Great girl.” You say in a rush, trying to keep your voice even. Peter has your bag, but it doesn’t matter. Your mind is already set on the sink of the bathrooms at the end of the hall, sitting and calming yourself down before you can face him again in class. You smile at him, aiming for sweet, but it’s forced, and strains your cheeks. “I hope it works out between you two.”

Peter calls after you as your walk turns into a run toward the bathroom, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. You don’t know what you expected. Don’t know what you hoped to gain by telling him - That he’d suddenly get over his enormous crush on the most beautiful senior in the school just because you told him you had feelings for him? Stupid. It was a stupid idea, and now you were crying by yourself in a bathroom stall while the rest of the class studies Bohr’s theory. Great plan.

 

You don’t speak to Peter for several days. A considerable feat, since you see him every day and sit with the same people at lunch. You work yourself harder during cheer practise, read with MJ after school and ignore Ned’s text inviting you over for movie night on Friday. You haven’t a missed movie night, ever. But you can’t bring yourself to go knowing Peter will be there, clothed in his dorky pyjamas and snuggled against Ned on the couch, feet kicking at your head in the dark. Funny how your best friend had suddenly become the person you can barely look at in the space of a few words.

 

MJ ambushes you in the girls’ bathroom the day of Homecoming, ripping an earbud out of one ear and punching you in the shoulder.

“Hey!” You shout out of a mix of pain and surprise. MJ looks murderous, and not at all sympathetic.

“You missed movie night. We watched Teen Wolf without you. Ned picked it just for you.” She says, deadpan tone laced with the slightest bit of emotion. She’s upset. It makes your heart hurt.  


“MJ, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” You begin, but MJ’s hand covers your mouth mid-sentence.

“I don’t care about your apology. It’s not me you have a problem with. It’s Peter. Now, you guys are disrupting movie night, and that I can’t just sleep on. So get out of the bathroom, and get your shit sorted.” She says, shoving you toward the door. You turn to reply, but she’s already made her way into a cubicle and slammed the door shut. Alright then. You dry your hands on a sheet of paper towel, toss it into the bin, and open the bathroom door, shoving it when it stops halfway. You want to punch MJ when you see what was blocking it.

Your eyes lock with Peter’s, whose hands come up to raise in a sort of surrender. His brown eyes are wide, hair messed up from P.E earlier that day. You want to apologise for ignoring him just seeing the look on his face - but you don’t. Instead, you turn and start to walk down the hall to your locker.

“Hey, no, wait!” He calls out, jogging after you. “C’mon, Rookie, talk to me.”

You freeze at the nickname. The one Cap called you, out on the field. The same one Mr. Stark had picked up and continues to use once he decided he wanted to try and recruit you - he uses it familiarly, same as he calls Peter ‘Kid’. Slowly, you turn to face him, ignoring the clench in your stomach at his pained expression.

“I’m sorry,” He says, before you can say anything. “I’m sorry I brought up Liz when you...when you told me that. And I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to talk to you the last couple days. I thought I should give you space, or whatever, but MJ practically manhandled me into the bathroom and smacked me with some Russian book until I said I’d ‘fix my shit’.”

You allow yourself to smile at that. “She can be scary. It’s a shame my powers don’t work on attitude.”

Peter laughs, and the sound is something you didn’t know you’d been missing until you heard it. His eyes meet yours again, and you feel your resolve go soft. “I wanted to ask, um. If you don’t already have a date for tonight...If you wanna go with me?”

“Seriously?” You ask, before you can think.

Peter nods, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah. I’d really like to go with the person I care about most.”

You feel your energy buzz through your chest, swelling and growing with each pump of blood from your heart. You try to keep yourself together, taking a deep breath in to will your powers back down, to settle into your bones. You nod, once, and find yourself returning his smile.

“Yeah. I’d like that.” You say, and your energy jumps when Peter’s eyes go bright, his smile widening at your answer.  


“Great. I mean, cool. Ned’s taking Michelle - his dad's dropping them off, if you wanna meet at her house? We can go in together?”

You nod, then turn your head when you hear the bathroom door swing open. MJ walks out, stares at both of you, then says, “7 o’clock,” before heading off down the hall. You and Peter watch her walk for a moment before turning back to each other and bursting out laughing. You’re idiots, the both of you.

Later on that night, Ned’s dad picks you all up from MJ’s doorstep, blasting some kind of ukulele jam session in the car on the way to the high school. You try not to fidget too much in your dress, playing with the sequins on the hem, pinching them between your fingers to bend them in half.

When you arrive, and really look around, you have to give props to Liz Allan and the homecoming decorators. The gym looks beautiful. You’re standing beside MJ, watching her do some kind of dance manoeuvre that involves no dancing at all, and giggling at Ned’s attempt at a moonwalk. Peter taps his shoulder, motioning to his own feet, which are moving up and down in something that is definitely  _not_  a moonwalk.

At the end of the song, Ned and MJ move off to the snacks table - Ned had been raving about the maraschino cherries in the punch - leaving you and Peter standing alone together. You step toward him, then press one of your Converse-clad feet onto his toes.

He looks up at you, surprise quickly turning into ‘oh, you little-’ as he tries to pull his foot out from under yours. Of course, like always, he can’t. Instead of moving away like you usually would, you move your other foot on top of his, so you’re standing on top of his feet, like a child.

The surprise returns to Peter’s expression. “I don’t think this is a dance move, Rookie.” He says, shifting his feet when you move your energy away, allowing him to move them. You move with him, keeping your feet on his.

“It kind of is. I used to dance like this with my dad.” You admit.

Peter’s fingers wrap around your wrist and pull your arm up to rest on his shoulder, doing the same with the other one.

“Let’s dance, then.” He says, and starts to sway, stepping side to side like you weighed nothing. While not using your powers, you probably did to him. You squirm at the closeness - something you wanted for so long, but now, knowing that he was doing this as an apology - holding you as a ‘sorry’, it didn’t feel the same. You go to move your arms away, but Peter’s hands come up to grip at your waist, holding you firm, but still gentle.

“Please. I know I shouldn’t be asking this, after being an idiot, but...I wanted to tell you that I feel the same way.” At those words, your head whips up, eyes wide. Your energy resurges, swirling around inside your lungs, choking up your breaths.

“W- Wait, what?” You manage. “What about Liz?”

Peter shrugs, tucking his chin to his shoulder - a habit he does whenever he’s nervous. “Well, she’s great. Still great. But, I don’t know. What you said to me the other day got me thinking, about why I like you so much.” He takes a breath, turns back to look at you, “You’re my equal. Not in a weird, romance-y way. I mean that...You’re different, like me. But you’re also so much like me. You like Ned’s movies, and listen to MJ’s book reviews, and you can stop a punch that’d kill a normal guy.”

You smile despite yourself hearing the last part. “Well, I am pretty amazing.”

Peter’s eyes are sincere when he says, “Yeah. You are.”

“Pete-”

“I like you. It took me a while to realise, but I do.”

The smile you’d tried to stop spreads, and soon Peter is returning it, and you’re swaying again, dancing like you did as a child in a school gymnasium to one of Cher’s greatest hits.

“Wow. I should hit you with literature more often, Parker.” MJ’s voice sounds out, and your heads turn to see her and Ned standing close together, holding glasses of punch and smirking at the two of you.

Peter just grips tighter to your waist and rolls his eyes at her. “Shut up, MJ.”

“Hey, M, you think I could stand on your feet like that?” Ned asks her.

Peter’s laughter rings out in your ear, and the sound is so, so much sweeter than the music.


End file.
